The Esoteric Meaning of the Movie “Prisoners”

“Prisoners” is a 2013 thriller film about the abduction of two girls in Pennsylvania. Behind this crime story is an underlying spiritual subtext and subtle symbolism that gives the movie another layer of meaning – one that comments on religion, morality and the hidden forces at play in society. This article will look at the esoteric meaning of “Prisoners”. 

Warning: Gigantic spoilers ahead!

Prisoners is the kind of movie that stays in your mind long after the ending credits roll. This is not only due to its gripping, dramatic story but to the spiritual subtext that underlies it all. As the film unfolds and the crime investigation progresses, esoteric concepts and symbolism are also introduced, giving the movie an entirely new dimension. What appears to be a story about the abduction of two little girls turns into a profound spiritual journey of humans facing adversity and finding themselves lost between good and evil, right and wrong, and morality and immorality.

Prisoners takes place in an average American town, Conyers, Pennsylvania during the time of Thanksgiving. The grey, gritty and unglamorous setting of the movie allows the characters to shine through, as the story is driven by their pains, struggles and dilemmas. Through the background and evolution of each character, the movie comments (and sometimes condemns) some aspects of American society. Some items that are touched upon: Christianity, “preppers”, secret societies and mind control. Let’s look at the most important characters of the movie.

Keller Dover, the Father

Played by Hugh Jackman, Keller Dover is a family man, a devout Christian and a “prepper” – someone who maintains a massive stockpile of various goods in his house in case of a major disaster. He is also very patriotic, for example, his favorite song is Star Spangled Banner. While not specifically stated in the movie, Keller somewhat has the profile of a Libertarian or close to the Tea Party movement. However, we quickly realize that in the context of this movie, these traits are far from helpful. In fact, they pretty much lead him to his downfall.

Although there is nothing wrong or illegal about stockpiling items in one’s  basement, people around Keller act weirdly about it. We get the feeling that it is a taboo subject. When the detective visits Keller’s basement and discovers his “prepper” secret, Keller immediately becomes a suspect. In short, the movie communicates the idea that this type of person is suspicious and not trustworthy.

Upon learning that his little girl has probably been abducted, Keller becomes distraught. As the movie progresses, his desperation turns into madness and Keller kidnaps a guy whom he believes is the culprit and proceeds to torture him.

Although Alex Jones (interesting name choice) kind of looks and acts like a child molester, we find out he is innocent. Even worse, it turns out that he himself was abducted as a child and his odd behavior is the result of years of mind control that impaired his intellectual development (he has the IQ of a ten year old boy). By kidnapping and torturing Alex Jones, Keller only further traumatizes an already-damaged person.

So, instead of helping authorities find his daughter or even comforting his family, Keller lashes out at an innocent person and becomes a kidnapper himself.

While Keller’s actions may have stemmed from a noble purpose, he distinctly crosses the boundary between right and wrong. This conflict is further emphasized when Keller turns to prayer to find strength and, perhaps, answers. At one point, during a torture session, Keller recites the Lord’s Prayer:

“…and forgive our trespasses as we forgive …”

But he stops at the point where he is supposed to say “as we forgive our trespassers” -  indicating that he cannot live up the Christian ideals described in the prayer he is reciting.

In short, Keller reacted to his daughter’s abduction in a violent matter, stubbornly focusing on a sole (innocent) person. Instead of providing comfort or seeking actual facts about his daughter’s abduction, Keller relied on instinct mixed with ignorance and anger. Through Keller’s response to the family crisis, the movie does not shine a favorable light on the “religious, patriotic, prepper” profile. Far from being prepared for disaster, Keller became paranoid, irrational, and prone to madness. Furthermore, behind his “good Christian” surface hides an infinite “stockpile” of anger, hate and rage.

Luckily, the detective in charge of the investigation is the exact opposite of Keller.

Detective Loki

Unlike Keller Dover, Detective Loki is rational, methodical, and never strays away from the law. He does not appear to have any kind of family and is portrayed as a loner dedicated to his job. Despite receiving constant verbal abuse from Keller, Loki stays focused on his task and manages to save pretty much everyone involved in this drama.

Loki is the name of a Norse god known to be crafty, quick-witted and sometimes heroic. He is also known to be a trickster, a shape-shifter who eventually turns against the gods. Does Detective Loki share traits with the Norse god he’s named after? It does symbolically represents the anti-thesis of the monotheistic, Judeo-Christian beliefs of Keller Dover. Furthermore, Loki definitely uses his intellectual powers to achieve his aims.

While Keller is associated with Jesus fishes and crosses, Loki is covered in occult symbols:

In short, Loki is associated with the rationality and enlightenment claimed by occult secret societies. In this sense, he is the opposite of the irrational, emotion-based Keller.

Merely through the varied symbolism associated with the characters of Keller Dover and Detective Loki, the movie criticizes the “religious prepper” type while glorifying members of secret societies. But Keller is not the only negative representative of Christianity in the film. While going through a list of sex offenders living in the area, Detective Loki ends up visiting a local priest … and finds him passed out on the floor, drunk. Then Loki finds a dead body in his basement (although it’s the body of a child abductor).

Prisoners also features another poor representative of Christianity:  Holly Jones, the kidnapper.

Holly Jones the Child Abductor, Mind Control and the War on God

Toward the end of the movie we learn that Holly Jones (Alex Jones’ “aunt”) is the one who kidnapped the two little girls. She claims that she and her late husband used to be devout Christians and that they used to drive around “spreading the good word”. However, since they lost their son to cancer, they turned against God. She tells Keller:

“Making children disappear is the war we wage on God. Makes people lose their faith. Turns them into demons like you”.

As we learn about the modus operandi of the Jones couple, we discover that they use basic mind control techniques on the children: They drug the captives, traumatize them by throwing them in dark holes and subject them to crazy mind games. This system is represented with one important symbol: the maze.

The Maze

The symbol of the maze is extremely important throughout the movie. It represents the system that abducts children and, more importantly, the state of mind control these children are forced to live in.

Therefore, Keller himself turns into a captive. After a period of moral tribulation, his time in the dark hole can represent his spiritual death, and can be compared to the three days spent by Jesus Christ in his tomb before being resurrected. In ancient occult secret societies, candidates for initiation were held in darkness for several days to represent the death of their “old self” before they were “spiritually reborn”.

Guess who ultimately saves Keller from the hole? Detective Loki. In a sense, Loki is Keller’s savior, the one who frees him from spiritual death and toward a second life. Loki, a representative of Masonic-like occult secret societies, is therefore portrayed as the one who pulls Keller, along with his irrational and hypocritical fervor, out of the hell he put himself into.

While Loki probably saved his life, Keller will nevertheless have to go to prison for the crimes he committed. In the end, there’s only one true prisoner in the movie: Keller Dover.

In Conclusion

Through the characters of Keller Dover and Detective Loki, Prisoners comments on specific elements of society, casting them in either a favorable or unfavorable light. Keller is a family man that is religious, patriotic, and prepared for disaster. While at first, he appears to be the hero of the story, he somewhat turns into a “bad guy”. The attributes that positively defined him in the beginning turn into gigantic flaws causing him to become irrational, sadistic and paranoid. The one who saves the day is Detective Loki, a character literally covered in occult symbolism, hinting that the way of secret societies is the “true light”. Loki’s enlightened ways ultimately give Keller a chance to be reborn.

Prisoners’ narrative and treatment of its characters reflects the direction of mass media today. The Keller Dovers of this world, who are either openly religious, patriotic, or prepared for disaster, are often deemed suspicious and prone to negative action. The values represented by Keller Dover are increasingly being frowned upon by mass media. Are these traits not desirable in the America of the New World Order? In an America where fundamental rights and freedoms are being slowly and steadily revoked, people like Keller Dover are the most likely to take action about it. And the elite does not want that. Perhaps that is why the Department of Homeland Security creates training videos portraying “constitutional, patriotic militias” as terrorist groups. Perhaps they want to find a way to turn them, like Keller, into prisoners.

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